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Basics of Cloud Build and Cloud Run#

Introduction#

When building production ready applications, if you want a simple, reliable way to build, deploy, and run software/application without managing servers or complex infrastructure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides managed services that help achieve this, even for users who are new to cloud computing or production setup.

Two key services that work especially well together are Cloud Build and Cloud Run. This document explains what they are, why they are useful, and how they fit into a typical application workflow.

What Is Cloud Build?#

Cloud Build is a fully managed GCP service that automatically builds your application from source code.

The simple workflow of Cloud Build is as follow:

  • Takes your code (for example, from GitHub)
  • Runs predefined build steps (such as installing dependencies, running tests, or building a Docker image)
  • Produces build artifacts, such as container images

You do not need to provision or maintain build servers, GCP manages all the infrastructure behind the scenes.

Common Use Cases#

  • Building Docker images from source code
  • Running tests during code changes and pushes to github
  • Automating builds when code is pushed to a repository

Key Benefits of Cloud Build#

  • Fully managed: No servers or build machines to maintain
  • Scalable: Builds run in parallel when needed
  • CI-friendly: Easily integrates into continuous integration (CI) pipelines

What Is Cloud Run?#

Cloud Run is a serverless platform for running containerized applications (such as Docker images).

With Cloud Run, you deploy a container image, and GCP automatically:

  • Provisions compute resources
  • Scales your application up and down
  • Handles networking and HTTPS

You only focus on your application code and how it responds to requests.

Important Characteristics#

  • Runs any container that listens on an HTTP port
  • Scales to zero when there is no traffic
  • Automatically scales up when traffic increases

Key Benefits of Cloud Run#

  • No server management: Infrastructure is fully abstracted
  • Cost-efficient: Pay only when your service is handling requests
  • Fast deployment: Deploy new versions in seconds
  • Language-agnostic: Works with Python, Java, Go, Node.js, and more

Why Use Cloud Build and Cloud Run Together?#

Cloud Build and Cloud Run complement each other and form a simple build-and-deploy pipeline.

Typical Workflow#

  1. A developer pushes code to a repository
  2. Cloud Build automatically:
    1. Builds a container image
    2. Runs tests or validation steps
    3. Stores the image in a artifact registry
  3. The built image is deployed to Cloud Run
  4. Cloud Run serves the application to users

Why Do We Need These Services?#

Traditional application deployment often requires:

  • Managing virtual machines
  • Configuring servers and networking
  • Manually scaling applications

Cloud Build and Cloud Run remove much of this operational burden.

This is especially valuable for:

  • Small teams or individual developers
  • Research and prototype projects
  • Production systems that need reliability without heavy DevOps overhead

Benefits for General Users#

Even without deep cloud expertise, users benefit from:

  • Simplicity: Clear separation between building code and running services
  • Reproducibility: Same build process works locally and in the cloud
  • Scalability: Applications automatically handle traffic changes
  • Security: Built-in authentication, authorization, and isolation
  • Faster iteration: Code changes can reach users quickly

Conclusion#

Cloud Build and Cloud Run are core GCP services designed to simplify modern application development and deployment. By automating builds and removing the need to manage servers, they help users focus on delivering functionality and value.

For teams new to GCP, these services provide a gentle entry point into cloud-native development while still being powerful enough for production-grade workloads.